Free online AU to 3GA converter

Source format: AU

AU is a simple audio container format originally associated with Sun Microsystems and early Unix systems. It is often used for small sound clips, legacy software assets, and basic audio samples. AU files may contain uncompressed PCM audio or compressed audio data, depending on the variant and encoder used. Because it is an older format, AU is most commonly encountered in archival material, classic Unix environments, and some technical or educational audio workflows.

Target format: 3GA

3GA is a mobile-oriented audio container used by some 3G/3GPP-compatible devices and software. It is closely related to 3GP media files, but typically contains audio only. The format is useful for phone recordings, voice notes, and compatibility with older mobile devices or applications that expect 3GPP audio containers. Its main advantage is broad support in legacy mobile ecosystems and compact file sizes when paired with speech-oriented codecs.

How to perform the conversion

The most reliable way to convert AU to 3GA is with FFmpeg, which supports both formats and gives you control over the audio codec used inside the 3GA container.

1. Install FFmpeg on your computer if it is not already available.
2. Open a terminal or command prompt in the folder containing your AU file.
3. Run a conversion command such as ffmpeg -i input.au -c:a aac output.3ga.
4. If your target device expects a different codec, you can try a speech-friendly option such as ffmpeg -i input.au -c:a amr_nb output.3ga when supported by your FFmpeg build.
5. Play the resulting output.3ga file in a compatible media player or transfer it to the target device for testing.

If you prefer a graphical workflow, Audacity can open many AU files, but it usually exports to common audio formats rather than directly to 3GA. In that case, export to a standard format first and then use FFmpeg to wrap or re-encode it into 3GA. On the 101convert.com website, you can convert the file for free without installing any software.

Notes on quality and compatibility

3GA support is not universal. Many modern players handle the underlying audio codec but may not recognize the .3ga extension itself. If playback fails, the issue is often the container rather than the audio data. In that case, renaming or converting to a more common format such as MP3 or M4A may improve compatibility.

Quality depends on the codec chosen during conversion. If you encode AU to a lossy codec for 3GA, some audio fidelity will be lost. For voice recordings, this is usually acceptable; for music or archival audio, choose the highest practical bitrate and verify the result on the intended device. Also note that some AU files use unusual sample rates or channel layouts, so a conversion may require resampling or downmixing to match the target device’s expectations.